"Since mid-to-late February, the spread of the overseas epidemic has accelerated, and several countries have seen severe outbreaks. We are highly concerned about it." At the press conference on the COVID-19 held on March 13, Luo Lin, Deputy Secretary-General and news spokesman of Chongqing Municipal People's Government, introduced that the epidemic prevention and control team of Chongqing has implemented precise and effective measures after study and deployment to prevent the imported epidemic resolutely.

As of March 12, Chongqing has no confirmed or suspected cases from abroad.

People who have been recently to countries/regions with a severe epidemic must receive 14-day quarantine

Luo Lin, the Deputy Secretary-General and news spokesman of Chongqing Municipal People's Government at the press conference on the COVID-19 held on March 13.

Luo added that Chongqing has fully implemented the health declaration system. All people who come or return to the city from foreign countries must fill in a health declaration form. It contains information such as their state of health, travel history, and contact history in the past 14 days. People who lie about their information or intentionally conceal their travel or contact history, causing the spread of the epidemic, will be investigated and punished strictly in accordance with the law.

"Chongqing will check the temperature of every passenger who comes or returns to the city," Luo said that all passengers on flights from severely epidemic affected countries or regions would be quarantined on arrival. Travelers who have been to those countries or regions in the past 14 days must receive nucleic acid testing (NAT) and be kept in self-monitored or centralized quarantine for 14 days. The local government will take the lead in quarantining and observing all passengers who come or return to the city.

Besides, if passengers are found to have such symptoms as a fever or a cough through an on-site check, the airport's medical aid center will be sent ambulances to take them to the designated hospital immediately. An ambulance will be arranged for one person. Relevant personnel must take personal protective measures, and the vehicle must be disinfected as required. Once a febrile patient is identified, the airport staff must immediately register passengers in the same row as the patient and in the three rows in front of and behind him/her, as well as crew members who have provided cabin service in these areas. All of these people must be sent to the medical observation center and receive NAT and those with normal temperature and has no travel history to severely affected countries or regions shall be uniformly put under community management.

Those who lie about personal information in the health declaration form will be punished for obstructing frontier health and quarantine

The Supreme People's Court, Supreme People's Procuratorate, Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of Justice and General Administration of Customs of the People's Republic of China jointly issued the Opinions on Further Strengthening Frontier Health and Quarantine Work in Punishing Crimes That Impede Frontier Health and Quarantine Laws on March 16. People will be punished for obstructing frontier health and quarantine with six categories of acts. They include confirmed or suspected patients who fill in the form with false information to conceal his real state of health, or forge or alter the quarantine form/certificate.

Ten Measures of Chongqing Border Defense

The staff of Chongqing Border is checking passenger's entry information.

To strictly prevent the epidemic from being imported from abroad, Chongqing has set up a special area for a frontier defense to check inbound and febrile tourists from countries (regions) severely stricken by COVID-19. When carrying out border inspection procedures for inbound personnel, it is of necessity to ask them in detail about their recent residence information, especially whether they have been to the foreign "countries and regions with severe epidemics" or come into contact with confirmed cases or febrile persons in the past 14 days, and report in time as required.

To reduce the risk of cross-infection at the site of border inspection, a "one-meter epidemic prevention circle" has been set up.

Chongqing has implemented ten measures in epidemic prevention and control and serving economic and social development, such as providing efficient, fast, and convenient port customs clearance services for Chinese and foreign personnel who have to exit and enter due to enterprises' production and work resumption. Besides, a green channel has been opened for flights carrying anti-epidemic materials which are subject to 24-hour on-arrival inspection. To reduce the risk of cross-infection at the site of border inspection, a "one-meter epidemic prevention circle" has been set up, that is, keeping an interval of over one meter from left to right and a queue interval of over one meter from front to back in the course of the inspection. In addition, on-duty staff have been arranged to help and guide pregnant women, the elderly, children and other special groups for customs clearance, and police skilled in eight languages, including English, Japanese, Korean, German, Russian, and French, have been arranged to explain the domestic epidemic prevention measures to foreign visitors.